Jenrick extends planning consents for 24,000 new homes

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has extended planning permissions for some 24,000 homes that were due to expire this year, after the country went into lockdown. Some 400 permissions set to expire between March and December this year will be extended until April 2021. Jenrick announced the move as part of a package to bolster construction following the coronavirus pandemic. He has also permanently granted the Planning Inspectorate the ability to use multiple procedures, for instance written representations, hearing and inquiries, to speed up the appeals process. Jenrick said: “New laws will enable us to speed up the pace of planning appeals and save hundreds of construction sites from being cancelled before they have a chance to get spades in the ground, helping to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs and create many others.” The British Property Federation has been working with the government on the proposals, specifically calling for the extended permissions. BPF policy director Ian Fletcher said: “It is vital to economic recovery that new investment continues to flow into our towns and cities, homes and high streets, and for those projects on rapidly expiring planning permissions over the coming months, this extension allows them to proceed with a little more leeway. “Government should also continue to monitor the situation post April 2021 given the tremendous economic and operational challenges developers continue to face.” However, others in the industry said the extension to permissions will do little to increase development. Stuart Baillie, head of planning at Knight Frank, said it was “not very generous and will likely not be impactful enough to create the desired effect”. He said: “Providing greater flexibility with a full 12 or even 24 months added to the expiry would have been preferable.” To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette